The aim of Kolumba is to stimulate labour integration of people with IDD. In that context, it is essential to be able to use a mail client. Most existing ones are too complex, and therefore confusing, for people with IDD. Kolumba is especially used with Gmail. It allows for the use of all three services used in the project:

SIMPLEXT: Any text received is translated to easy reading.

TEXT2PICTO: It translates a text into pictograms. It is a technology to be used by people with lower literacy or reading comprehension skills.

TEXT2SPEECH: Changes written text to voice.

Features

1. Use of the ABLE accessibility layer: Text2Picto, Text2Speech and Simplext.
2. Very easy interface.
3. Few functionalities: New message, Sent, Inbox and Contacts.
4. Accessible for all kind of disability.

The Kolumba app – mailbox

In the upper right the language can be chosen (at the moment English and Spanish), the name of the user is also shown. Below are icons for ‘inbox’, ‘sent’, ‘new mail’, ‘contacts’ (all in green) and ‘exit’ (in red). No more than 5 mails are shown per screen. The user can have them read aloud (icons at the left). Once a mail has been selected, it also becomes possible to have the message simplified or translated in pictos, Picto and Picto2 referring to two different sets of pictos.